Bio

Americana to the bone, Canadiana in the heart & soul. Barry James Payne is the brainchild and creative force behind the music of String Bone. Payne is a songwriter, producer, musician, artist and Canadian indie entrepreneur who has worked in the business since the early '80s writing, recording & performing in many configurations and has toured extensively throughout Canada, the US and Europe. Throughout this time, Payne also spent his time promoting, educating, marketing and publicising many other Canadian musicians and artists in publications and concert series to help bolster the Canadian music scene, doing his small part. As his Rant Maggie Rant band mate, Steve Clark, often said to him, "You make things happen...". Payne’s String Bone has released 6 singles and 15 videos on digital platforms since 2019; “Two Stars Collide” (with accompanying video), a collaboration with drum and bass producer Nathan McKay, “A Lot More Better” a co-write with Jay Reihl, “Waitin’ For My Dyin’ Day” (with video) with George Leger III, a cover of Ferron’s “Ain’t Life A Brook” (with video) and the insane and bombastic danceable ‘Wow! Oh Yeah!’ and his just released 'Why Should I Try', which is an ode to the main character in the Netflix series 'Lucifer'. These singles will make up two full-length waterfall releases scheduled for June 2022 – “Coping Mechanisms”, a collection of original songs, and “Cover-Up Conspiracy Theory” an album dedicated to Payne’s early songwriting influences. For four decades Payne has been writing music, recording and performing live and has co-produced and released two full length String Bone albums, ‘nadir’ (2009), ‘Love & Highways’ (2016). Payne also was a core member of Canadian Celtic-Roots band ‘Rant Maggie Rant’ for over 12 years, during which time he performed with several orchestras and in many theatres and festivals across Canada and the US. His songs have been featured on three of their recordings and he produced their last two albums. His first full length CD 'nadir' was called as diverse as Lucinda Williams, Jay Farrar, Wilco, Dylan, Steve Earle, Nick Lowe, and Elvis Costello by reviewers. From that same record, String Bone's song 'Midnight Train' was in regular rota- tion on ABC Country - The Australia Broadcasting Corporation's national country station for several months. He cites Willie P. Bennett as a major influence along with Dylan, Young, Costello, and Cohen. Payne also performs and records with other musical projects including Celtic powerhouse 'Rant Maggie Rant’ and with roots duo ‘Payne & Taylor,’ alongside Rick Taylor (Leonard Cohen, Willie P. Bennett, Stan Rogers, Colleen Peterson). "The creativity in making this track ('Wow! Oh Yeah') is so huge, .....on the same level of inventiveness as names like Frank Zappa and Captain Beefheart without a shadow of a doubt." ~ Roadie-Music.com (Brazil). “...'Wow! Oh Yeah' is awesome. Total departure from the country sound… like, Talking Heads meets Nashville….. love it. It feels like Once in a Lifetime (which is a good thing) and attempts to answer the same questions… decades later, as nothing changes.” ~ Matt Wannan, Aeolian Hall (CANADA). “String Bone, a.k.a. Barry James Payne and Nathan McKay have teamed up for a solid alt-folk anthemic track titled ‘Two Stars Collide’. Filled with a massive hook and laced with acoustic-electro tinged mash-ups of sound and solemnness, ‘Two Stars Collide’ offers a multifaceted look at a powerful collaboration.” (Jammerzine, UK). "...on his new album Love & Highways he’s managed to capture the often elusive mysterious country/roots music vibe that’s been mined to great effect by T Bone Burnett.....these songs are honest and telling due to a total lack of pretension or insincerity." Rod Nicholson, Scene Magazine (London, ON, Canada) “nadir is a richly decorated composition. Payne scores big as a lyrical talent because of his depth and a focused, refined approach that isn't over-produced and this effort heralds the arrival of a major songwriter.” (JiveWired, USA). “The strength of singer/songwriter (Barry James Payne) String Bone is both in the lyrics and the melody of these folk/ Americana songs which, on 'nadir' he lays out for you on a platter. If you can put out such terrific songs on a debut CD categorized as great, you must be a very gifted lyricist and songwriter. ‘nadir’ from String Bone is of an excellent high quality.” (Alt.Country Forum, Holland)